May 20 (SeeNews) - Romania's energy minister Virgil Popescu said on Friday he is encouraging the return of multinational oil and gas company Shell to its market, aiming to partner-up with the company in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.
"I conveyed that I encourage the return of Shell to the Romanian market, expressing the desire to develop a long-term partnership, to initiate concrete cooperation projects in the field of energy, especially the LNG sector," Popescu said in a social media post following a meeting with Shell representatives.
Discussions with the Shell delegation also focused on the importance of LNG in the current energy context as a viable solution for reducing import dependencies and increasing the security of supplies.
Shell first entered Romania in 1996, where it was present until 2004 with its fuel retail business and until 2007 with its LNG division. The fuel retail business was acquired by Hungarian oil and gas company MOL in 2004, renamed to MOL Ro Comert and later included in MOL's local network. The LNG division was sold to French group Rubis in 2007, alongside LNG divisions from Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
In April 2021, Shell started direct commercial road transport operations in Romania. A new legal entity, Shell Romania, has been established, gradually taking over commercial road transport activity from local agent Shell Card.